BLOTTED SCIENCE — The Machinations of Dementia (review)

BLOTTED SCIENCE — The Machinations of Dementia album cover Album · 2007 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
AtomicCrimsonRush
The metal shredding on "The Machinations of Dimentia" is akin to having your head lobotomised with a surgical drill. The intensity of the sound is mind numbing, and you will love every minute of it if you are a technical metal addict. Every track is technically precise and full of surprising twists and turns. The bass is jack hammer pounding at times as distorted riffs grind powerfully through the brain. It is little wonder the music is this brutal coming from the hands of extreme bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Watchtower, Spastic Ink, Obscura and Hate Eternal.

Tracks such as 'Synaptic Plasticity', 'EEG Tracings', 'Activation Synthesis Theory' and 'The Insomniac' absolutely annihilate with power shredding and some of the most incredible lead guitar work on the planet. Every track has astonishing dextrous guitars, drum blast beats and hammer smashed basslines. The furious attack of stop start riffs may be too extreme for some but what really draws me to this Meshuggah like band is the fact that they are devoid of any vocals. There are none so there is no interference with the mind blowing metal. Too often great bands are ruined in my opinion by screamo or gravel gargling vocals and when these are removed the band is simply brilliant.

There are moments that allow the music to breathe such as the dreamy guitar picking on 'Adenosine Breakdown' and even jazz nuances abound on this track, before it revs into high gear and spirals wildly out of control. The screeches of guitar distortion are joined by delirious off beat signatures and polymeters. The axe man is a master of rhythmic precision and very complex patterns, none other than guitarist extraordinaire Ron Jarzombek, and he is joined by Alex Webster on bass and Charlie Zeleny on drums. Together they are a glorious force of killer metal.

'Amnesia' begins with incredible bass that is as good as I have heard, and then manic frenetic lead screams over a breakneck speed riff. This is intense wall to wall shredding and blast beats. Everything is going at warp speed and it makes the heart race quicker as the grinding pounds. 'Laser Lobotomy'features Slayer-esque lead work and riffing throughout, as fast as you would need, and yet maintains some Steve Vai type lead breaks and absolutely flawless technical rhythms.

This is one album to get hold of for shred heads and is definitely some of the most technical metal I have ever heard. Skull crushing metal from beginning to end with relentless brutality, but there is a market for this and without vocals it is all the better. Not for the faint hearted but an important album for the development of extreme metal.
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